Toronto Maple Leafs

Although many Toronto Maple Leafs zealots had me believe it, the sky did not fall when I awoke this morning, despite the outcome of the latest entry in the Tomas Kaberle saga.
And guess what? Kaberle's future with the Leafs does not dictate whether or not the team's short-term goals will be fulfilled. In fact, retaining the veteran defender may prove to strengthen the Leafs' chances at making the playoffs for the first time in the post-lockout era.
Don't get me wrong, I still believe it was in the Leafs' best interest to trade the veteran defender and acquire an offensive boost upfront. However, no one other than Burke is privy to the quality of the trade offers. Burke had made it clea...

Whether you're happy with the outcome or not, the elephant in the room has finally been dealt with. And just in case there's any confusion, no Kyle Wellwood has not been signed by any team.
The end result, as I'm sure you all know by now is that Tomas Kaberle will remain a Leaf for the time being. After the dust has settled, I can honestly say that I'm happy Burke didn't just trade Kaberle for the sake of it. Of course I would have liked to see Kaberle traded for a decent return, but at the same time I'm also happy Burke didn't get desperate and pull the trigger on deals like the rumoured Ryan Malone for Kaberle deal late in the evening.
The problem now, as I've mentioned before is...

As the Kaberle trade deadline looms, Leaf fans are eagerly waiting, most panicking about the situation. As it stands Kaberle remains a Leaf and many fear that will still be the case on Monday morning. I stated a few weeks ago that I believed if Kaberle was dealt it would have happened at the beginning of August, not at the deadline. Obviously that hasn't happened and so we hope that something will happen within the next three days. With that said, I am still optimistic that something will get done and Burke fueled that optimism this morning on the FAN 590.
When asked about whether Kaberle would be a Leaf Monday morning, Brian Burke stated, "it's too early to say." Leaf fans might be ...

The Leafs made a deal on the eve of the UFA frenzy which sent Stalberg, Didomenico, and Paradis to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Kris Versteeg and the rights to Billy Sweatt. Most Leaf fans, myself included, knew little to nothing about Billy Sweatt, apparently a speedy winger who was selected in the second round back in 2007.
After some quick analysis and reassurance from GM Brian Burke, Leaf fans started to get excited about the little known prospect. Well now just two weeks later, he's gone. Sweatt had gone three years without an NHL contract, meaning that the Leafs only had a small window to sign him before they lost his rights and he hit the open market. A frustrated Bri...

It has been a forgone conclusion for quite some time now that Tomas Kaberle would be traded in the summer window that we are currently in, one in which Kaberle’s no-movement clause has been lifted for a month. It has also been a forgone conclusion that dealing Kaberle for another top-six forward will immediately improve the team. Well I’m sorry to burst your bubble Leafs Nation, but neither of those may be true.
Yesterday I wrote about the possibility that Kaberle will remain a Leaf and what would need to happen in order for that to occur. Well today I’m here to burst the bubble of hope that automatically assumes that the Leafs will be a better team once they get that top six forw...

Right now Stan Bowman probably feels like a snow plow just pushed snow onto his drive way right after he finished shoveling it. After clearing out what seemed to be enough cap space by trading away Versteeg, Byfuglien, Ladd and Sopel, the San Jose Sharks signed the Blackhawks' restricted free agent defenseman, Niklas Hjalmarsson to an offer sheet. So what does this all have to do with the Leafs?
Well it's no secret by now that the Blackhawks will be matching the Sharks offer to Hjalmarsson. The Blackhawks decision to match the offer has actually potentially benefited the Leafs two-fold. On one side, the Blackhawks now have to clear more cap space in order to get Niemi under contract. ...

If the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, the franchise must now focus on upgrading the offence.
While the acquisition of Kris Versteeg certainly helps, the Leafs are still in need of some firepower upfront. Options are scarce in the free agent market, but the likes of Matthew Lombardi (although reports indicate he is seeking upwards of $4 million per season), Alexander Frolov and Ilya Kovalchuk are still available.
The Leafs have $7.05 million in cap space and must still re-sign restricted free agents Nikolai Kulemin and Christian Hanson. However, Burke has options to free up some cap space should he decide to a) bury Jeff Finger’s $3.5 mil...